ABSTRACT
The Dutch history of slavery in the Indonesian archipelago and the Indian Ocean has only recently begun to gain traction as a (potential) part of the Dutch slavery canon, which has been dominated by a focus on transatlantic research and societal interest. Second, only recently, visual sources on slavery have gained more interest. Third, and more generally, a more critical outlook is being used when analysing the colonial past. Taken together, these developments mark a larger shift in recent engagement with the history of slavery in general, and the Dutch history of slavery in particular, making it all the more important to look critically at how this past has been visually represented and imagined, and what that signifies. What can we learn about slavery from visual sources that have played a role in shaping and reinforcing traditional representations of slavery, especially in the Indonesian archipelago and the Indian Ocean area? And how can visual sources help break the (visual) silence of slavery in the Indonesian archipelago? This chapter attempts to cast some light on these questions.
